Troy Smith: Use Him or Lose Him

Troy Smith has been a great player since college. He won the Heisman Trophy and barely lost a game while at Ohio State.

Even in the NFL he has shown he can win games, beating the Steelers 21-27 in 2007 in only his second start of his NFL career.

The only thing wrong with Smith has been his luck.

It started in the National Championship game against Florida, when Ted Ginn Jr. got hurt after the opening kick-off. His star receiver was injured, leaving Smith vulnerable with Anthony Gonzales as the only major threat. Ohio State lost the game 41-14.

It continued when he got a tonsil infection before starting a preseason game.

Troy Smith was going to be the starting quarterback for the Ravens—instead he was sick at home, losing major weight and getting very ill.

Since then, Flacco has been starting and no one is complaining, because with the rookie quarterback came a chance to make it to the Super Bowl.

Flacco has had a tremendous year for the Ravens, and seems to be their man, but where does that leave Smith?

It’s a waste of talent to just let Smith sit on the bench.

They were letting him play on trick plays, but they didn’t even use him when they put it all on the line against Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship.

If the Ravens do not use Smith, they should give him a chance to be a starter on another team.

There are teams out there are saying maybe to the idea of an out of shape criminal like Michael Vick. I think Troy could find a place pretty easily.

Troy Smith can be an NFL quarterback he’s shown that. He hasn’t completed every pass, but he has the awareness to take off and run or throw the ball away. He doesn’t throw many interceptions, and as a player for the Ravens he hasn’t thrown any on the field.

He is a leader and that is his best quality. When you see a team respond to a rookie the way the Ravens did in ’07, it says something about Troy and his ability to lead.

He might not be able to be a starter, but he deserves a chance to try.

He may not be the QB for the Ravens, but I’m sure he could be the leader for some other team.